Constance Verity has been saving the world since she was seven, and she’s sick of it. She sets off on one last adventure to reset her destiny and become the one thing she’s never been: ordinary.
Ever since she was granted a wish at birth by her fairy godmother, Constance Verity has become the world’s great adventurer. She is a master of martial arts, a keen detective, and possesses a collection of strange artifacts. Constance has spent the past twenty-eight years saving the world, and she’s tired of it. All she wants is to work in an office and date a nice, normal guy. And she’s figured a way out. The only problem is that saving the world is Constance’s destiny. She’s great at it, and there are forces at work to make sure she stays in the job.
Then again, it’s also her destiny to have a glorious death.
**
Unknown
Fantasy stalwart Martinez (Gil’s All Fright Diner) returns to the fertile soil of genre parody with decidedly mixed results. Constance Verity was given a single wish by her fairy godmother. She has spent every day since she was seven having impossible adventures. Swashing that many buckles gets old, though, and now Constance has one final mission: kill her fairy godmother, thwart her grand destiny, and live a normal life. To do that, she must venture into Area 51, punch the biggest monsters the fey folk have to offer, and, most challenging of all, navigate her new relationship with ordinary, wonderfully boring Byron. Martinez peppers his heroine’s life with as many disparate tropes and clichés as will fit in her ever-expanding backstory, and unlike Pratchett, who lampooned well-worn genre conventions to make sociopolitical observations, Martinez seems to be in it just for the laughs. Thankfully, those come at a rapid pace, and brilliant gags shine through the overall glib tone. Readers who enjoy a nicely shattered fourth wall will appreciate this novel. (Publishers Weekly May 16, 2016)
While Constance Verity was still in her cradle, her fairy godmother bestowed upon her the blessing of an adventurous life. So it was, with Constance traversing the globe (and traveling through time occasionally), fighting evil, collecting artifacts, and in general becoming the most famous woman in the universe. By age 28, she’s had enough excitement and decides to track down her fairy godmother and have her take back her blessing. But even with Constance’s best friend Tia by her side, it will be an undertaking to stop taking on the risks. The deadpan snark, especially in exchanges between Constance and Tia, is nonstop and sure to keep readers giggling. Luckily, this is the first book in a planned trilogy. VERDICT Martinez (The Automatic Detective; Emperor Mollusk Versus the Sinister Brain) delivers another witty, fast-paced fantasy for those who enjoyed his early work, as well as the books of Christopher Moore. (Library Journal June 15, 2016)
Review
Constance Verity—blessed (or cursed) three hours after her birth by a fairy godmother who granted her a life of adventure and wonder—has been saving the world since her seventh birthday. It’s been 20 years, and it’s time for a vacation. She dreams of being normal, and she wants to be bored. To this end, she resolves to go kill her fairy godmother. Tia, who has been Constance’s best friend since before that fateful birthday, accompanies her—after all, a good sidekick is important. After a dramatic fight in, well, fairyland, where they track the fairy godmother down, and a showdown with the disgraced fairy herself in a rundown Florida rental, Constance finds what seems to be the solution. Finally ordinary, she’s having the time of her life: dating a nice, normal young man (whom she met at a poetry slam, but nobody’s perfect); spending time with her parents; doing everything that she never had time for before. But, of course, the cogs of fate and ancient cultish conspiracy are moving, and they drag her back into adventure—and the true meat of the story, in which she saves the world yet again and finally finds that most elusive of prizes: work-life balance. An ethnically diverse heroine, great adventure pacing, a witty sense of humor, and some quality banter make this a delightful subversion of superhero tropes. — Regina Schroeder (Booklist (STARRED) July 1, 2016)
“Reading this novel is probably the most fun I’ve had with a book so far this year. I think anybody will enjoy it because it’s fast-paced, inventive, and completely irreverent. Highly recommended.” (- Charles de Lint, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction)
“An ethnically diverse heroine, great adventure pacing, a witty sense of humor, and some quality banter make this a delightful subversion of superhero tropes.” (- Booklist (STARRED))
“Martinez delivers another witty, fast-paced fantasy. The deadpan snark is nonstop and sure to keep readers giggling.” (– Library Journal)
“Fast-paced and funny, the story never flags.” (- Shelf Awareness)
“Across 10 previous novels, A. Lee Martinez has made his name with outlandish stories packed with rollicking fantasy concepts...the mastermind of this multi-leveled fantasy caper.” (― Barnes & Noble Science Fiction/Fantasy Blog)
“Strong character development — which is what I like to see in a book.” (-- The News-Gazette)
“The Last Adventure of Constance Verity is sure to give you plenty of good laughs and some deeper themes to chew on. It’s unexpectedly charismatic and offbeat.” (– The BiblioSanctum)
“Martinez is obviously very passionate about his work and characters. I, for one, am quite excited to find out that his Constance Verity character is to be featured in two more books! If you haven’t taken the plunge into the amazing novels of this author, then I urge you to do so. Everything I’ve read by him has been a blast!” (– Geeks of Doom)
Description:
Constance Verity has been saving the world since she was seven, and she’s sick of it. She sets off on one last adventure to reset her destiny and become the one thing she’s never been: ordinary.
Ever since she was granted a wish at birth by her fairy godmother, Constance Verity has become the world’s great adventurer. She is a master of martial arts, a keen detective, and possesses a collection of strange artifacts. Constance has spent the past twenty-eight years saving the world, and she’s tired of it. All she wants is to work in an office and date a nice, normal guy. And she’s figured a way out. The only problem is that saving the world is Constance’s destiny. She’s great at it, and there are forces at work to make sure she stays in the job.
Then again, it’s also her destiny to have a glorious death.
**
Unknown
Fantasy stalwart Martinez (Gil’s All Fright Diner) returns to the fertile soil of genre parody with decidedly mixed results. Constance Verity was given a single wish by her fairy godmother. She has spent every day since she was seven having impossible adventures. Swashing that many buckles gets old, though, and now Constance has one final mission: kill her fairy godmother, thwart her grand destiny, and live a normal life. To do that, she must venture into Area 51, punch the biggest monsters the fey folk have to offer, and, most challenging of all, navigate her new relationship with ordinary, wonderfully boring Byron. Martinez peppers his heroine’s life with as many disparate tropes and clichés as will fit in her ever-expanding backstory, and unlike Pratchett, who lampooned well-worn genre conventions to make sociopolitical observations, Martinez seems to be in it just for the laughs. Thankfully, those come at a rapid pace, and brilliant gags shine through the overall glib tone. Readers who enjoy a nicely shattered fourth wall will appreciate this novel. (Publishers Weekly May 16, 2016)
While Constance Verity was still in her cradle, her fairy godmother bestowed upon her the blessing of an adventurous life. So it was, with Constance traversing the globe (and traveling through time occasionally), fighting evil, collecting artifacts, and in general becoming the most famous woman in the universe. By age 28, she’s had enough excitement and decides to track down her fairy godmother and have her take back her blessing. But even with Constance’s best friend Tia by her side, it will be an undertaking to stop taking on the risks. The deadpan snark, especially in exchanges between Constance and Tia, is nonstop and sure to keep readers giggling. Luckily, this is the first book in a planned trilogy. VERDICT Martinez (The Automatic Detective; Emperor Mollusk Versus the Sinister Brain) delivers another witty, fast-paced fantasy for those who enjoyed his early work, as well as the books of Christopher Moore. (Library Journal June 15, 2016)
Review
Constance Verity—blessed (or cursed) three hours after her birth by a fairy godmother who granted her a life of adventure and wonder—has been saving the world since her seventh birthday. It’s been 20 years, and it’s time for a vacation. She dreams of being normal, and she wants to be bored. To this end, she resolves to go kill her fairy godmother. Tia, who has been Constance’s best friend since before that fateful birthday, accompanies her—after all, a good sidekick is important. After a dramatic fight in, well, fairyland, where they track the fairy godmother down, and a showdown with the disgraced fairy herself in a rundown Florida rental, Constance finds what seems to be the solution. Finally ordinary, she’s having the time of her life: dating a nice, normal young man (whom she met at a poetry slam, but nobody’s perfect); spending time with her parents; doing everything that she never had time for before. But, of course, the cogs of fate and ancient cultish conspiracy are moving, and they drag her back into adventure—and the true meat of the story, in which she saves the world yet again and finally finds that most elusive of prizes: work-life balance. An ethnically diverse heroine, great adventure pacing, a witty sense of humor, and some quality banter make this a delightful subversion of superhero tropes. — Regina Schroeder (Booklist (STARRED) July 1, 2016)
“Reading this novel is probably the most fun I’ve had with a book so far this year. I think anybody will enjoy it because it’s fast-paced, inventive, and completely irreverent. Highly recommended.” (- Charles de Lint, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction)
“An ethnically diverse heroine, great adventure pacing, a witty sense of humor, and some quality banter make this a delightful subversion of superhero tropes.” (- Booklist (STARRED))
“Martinez delivers another witty, fast-paced fantasy. The deadpan snark is nonstop and sure to keep readers giggling.” (– Library Journal)
“Fast-paced and funny, the story never flags.” (- Shelf Awareness)
“Brilliant gags shine through.” (- Publishers Weekly)
“Across 10 previous novels, A. Lee Martinez has made his name with outlandish stories packed with rollicking fantasy concepts...the mastermind of this multi-leveled fantasy caper.” (― Barnes & Noble Science Fiction/Fantasy Blog)
“Strong character development — which is what I like to see in a book.” (-- The News-Gazette)
“The Last Adventure of Constance Verity is sure to give you plenty of good laughs and some deeper themes to chew on. It’s unexpectedly charismatic and offbeat.” (– The BiblioSanctum)
“Martinez is obviously very passionate about his work and characters. I, for one, am quite excited to find out that his Constance Verity character is to be featured in two more books! If you haven’t taken the plunge into the amazing novels of this author, then I urge you to do so. Everything I’ve read by him has been a blast!” (– Geeks of Doom)